This brief presents a review of 161 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted on behalf of 188 countries3 for COP 21 to determine the extent to which Parties made clear commitments to strengthen or expand the tenure and natural resource management rights of IP/LCs as part of their climate change mitigation plans or associated adaptation actions.4 Of the 161 INDCs submitted, 131 are from countries with tropical and subtropical forests.

This manual is designed to assist development organizations to respect the right to FPIC when developing and implementing projects affecting Indigenous Peoples. It contains a six-step procedure to facilitate the FPIC process while showing its benefits, as well as provides the regulatory framework to be used when mainstreaming Indigenous Peoples’ rights within organizations’ policies and standards.

Hpapun (Mutraw) District

"This Situation Update describes events occurring in Dwe Lo Township, Hpapun District between August and October 2015, including forced labour, land confiscation, and livelihood issues.

- Soldiers from Tatmadaw Infantry Battalion (IB) #96 in Dwe Lo Township, forced villagers in A--- valley to transport their supplies and the only compensation the villagers were given was petrol.

Section one of the papers provides a
brief overview of the relationship between the Sahel region
of Africa and climate variability trends and predictions,
ultimately posing the primary research question of the
study: Is the Sahel region more likely to have a higher
probability of conflict and migration as a result of climate
change and climate change-related events? In section two,
research and analysis aim to identify causal paths between

As the result of past investments in gas
and mining sectors and high world commodity prices, the
Bolivian economy grew considerably during the last seven
years. Prudent macroeconomic policies and high taxes on
hydrocarbon revenues led to a significant accumulation of
fiscal surplus and external reserves. Under a state-led
development model, the government led by President Morales
pursued redistributive policies and invested heavily in road

Up to 2.5 billion people depend on indigenous and community lands, which make up over 50 percent of the land on the planet; they legally own just one-fifth. The remaining five billion hectares remain unprotected and vulnerable to land grabs from more powerful entities like governments and corporations.

The purpose of this paper is to assess
the World Bank's recent relations with civil society
organizations (CSOs), that is, nongovernmental organizations
and not-for-profit organizations, and to propose options for
promoting more effective civic engagement in Bank-supported
activities and managing associated risks in the future. The
analysis in this paper points to four main issues and
challenges for the Bank as it seeks to achieve more

This article addresses political rights and identity among Il Chamus of Baringo District, Kenya, a small group of agro-pastoralists related to the Maasai. It discusses an important 2006 judicial ruling from the High Court of Kenya that specified a political constituency and national representation for the community, and shows how the state and its actions undermined its implementation.

“We have to work with the voice of the people,” Nai Aue Mon tells me in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand, as we discuss the recent rise of land confiscation and land disputes in the Mon State. Aue Mon has been with the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) since 1999, when he started witnessing the abuse and violations of the rights of civilians in the Mon State. He first began working as a journalist for the Mon publication Guiding Star, before beginning his work as documenting and defending human rights.

In 2013 the World Bank set itself two
ambitious goals: to end extreme poverty within a generation
and to boost the prosperity of the bottom 40 percent of the
population worldwide. In Latin America, the significance of
both goals cannot be overstated. Indigenous people account
for about 8 percent of the population, but represent 14
percent of the poor and over 17 percent of all Latin
Americans living on less than United States (U.S.) $2.50 a

El objetivo del presente documento es describir la estructura actual de tenencia de la tierra por parte de los diversos grupos étnicos que conforman la sociedad civil rural de Colombia. El documento aborda la temática desde una perspectiva descriptiva general. La intención es demostrar cómo la demanda de tierras por parte de estos grupos étnicos diversos (indígenas, afros y campesinos) que componen…